Access to safe fuels for motorcycles remains a priority. In a news brief on November 15, 2013 from the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), it was revealed that the release of E15 fuel into the US market could be stalled for some time, which is news that should come as a relief to motorcyclists across the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to reduce the total amount of ethanol required in transportation fuel nationwide in 2014, which could slow the introduction of E15 fuel into the marketplace. This news means that motorcyclists don’t have to worry for a little while longer about damage to their engines when accidentally fueling up with E15 fuel.
The reason why the United States is keen on having E15 fuel is because it will stretch fuel supplies and supposedly help lessen dependence on non-renewable fuels. E15 is a fuel blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline that the EPA has approved for use in 2001-and-newer passenger vehicles BUT NOT for motorcycles, ATVs, boats, lawn mowers and other small engines. Ethanol is grain alcohol produced from crops such as corn that is mixed with gasoline to produce an ethanol-gasoline blend motor fuel. Currently, E15 fuel is available in a minority of states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The majority of fuel in the United States is E10.